Allen’s Proprietary Digital Technology Versus PC-based Technology

﻿

February 4, 2015

Re: Allen's Proprietary Digital Technology
Versus PC-based Technology

In 1971 Allen Organ Company introduced the
world's first digital musical instrument. The Digital Computer
Organ pre-dated other digital sound production products by years
with the first Allen digital organ now residing in the Smithsonian
Institute in Washington DC, a testimony to the significance of
Allen's contribution to digital sound technology. Since 1971 Allen
continuously has advanced the state-of-the-art with its current
Quantum-based technology including millions of times the power of
the original Digital Computer Organ.

More recently, general-purpose Personal
Computers (PCs) have developed the ability to produce organ sounds.
While this approach provides some cost benefits for suppliers, it
presents compromised results to the end-user. By comparison to the
off-the-shelf PC approach, Allen Organ Company designs and uses
dedicated hardware that provides Allen customers the benefits
described here.

Musical Superiority

All digital organs, whether based on PC's or
dedicated sound generation technology, digitally record organ pipes
sounds and place these recordings in the organ's memory for
playback.

A significant difference between PC and Allen's
dedicated hardware is the way pipe sounds are recorded and then
processed on playback. PC-based organs, often referred to as
"Virtual Organs", include pipe sounds that were recorded with the
original building's acoustics (reverberation). With this recording
technique microphones are placed out in the room at a significant
distance from the pipes with the recorded samples referred to as
"wet". While this is the easiest way to record pipes it results in
compromises. For example, when a digital organ with "wet" samples
is installed in a building with its own acoustics, the two
acoustics can collide, leading to unnatural results.

Allen Organ Company records pipes with
microphones placed close to each pipe resulting in pure or "dry"
samples. This is a more complex recording process that requires
access to the pipe organ chambers. However, Allen makes this extra
effort to provide more accurate and realistic tonal results. With
the Allen "dry" sampling method, the result is that of real pipes
installed in the room where the Allen digital organ is located.
This is the same reality for every pipe organ installation. With
Virtual Organ "wet" samples, the pipe sound often seems distant and
disconnected from the room in which the organ is installed. This
explains why the experience of playing a Virtual Organ is more like
playing a recording, rather than a real instrument.

The Allen design philosophy is similar to that
of master pipe organ builders. Allen's dedicated tone generation
surpasses PC digital sound capabilities. Like a fine pipe organ,
the detail of Allen's technology creates warm and cohesive
ensembles that properly build and connect with the room's natural
acoustics.

Technical Superiority

Allen Organs with Quantum technology provide
acoustic enhancement in a very different way from that of Virtual
Organs. Unlike the "wet" acoustics that are permanently affixed to
the sound of Virtual Organs, the Allen method allows the acoustical
parameters of the organ to be adjusted nearly infinitely and
independently from the pipes sounds. This method, known as
convolution, requires hundreds of million calculations per second
to create a level of acoustic realism not provided by any other
digital organ in the world. PC's lack the computing power to
provide this Allen convolution benefit. As a result, Virtual Organs
force users to accept the acoustics supplied with the sound
samples, irrespective of whether it helps or hinders the tonal
results of the installation.

Reliability/Product Longevity

Pipe organs are reputed to last for decades.
Allen Organs are designed to withstand a similar test of time as
the company's track record attests. Many of Allen's earliest
instruments built seven decades ago are still in-service and
serviceable today. No other builder matches this record of customer
service. This remarkable history has been accomplished by building
instruments with superior quality and just as important, stocking
millions of dollars of service parts for customers. This customer
centric approach continues to be built into every Allen Organ.

PC-based organ suppliers take a different view
of product longevity and customer support. These organs are
"virtual" not only based on technology, but because of the support
philosophy of their suppliers. PC-based organs are kits put
together using PCs from one supplier, sound samples from another
(often Hauptwerk), MIDI controllers from another, organ consoles
from another, keyboards from another, stop controls from still
another, etc. No one company or supplier is responsible for product
support or customer satisfaction. In addition, any Virtual Organ
warranty that exists is dependent on the capabilities and
willingness of each subassembly supplier. The problem with this
approach becomes more apparent when one considers that PCs
typically have a lifespan of five years or less.

The piecemeal design of Virtual Organs has
resulted in customers reporting unreliable or unserviceable
products, even shortly after their purchase. This shorter lifespan
greatly increases the actual yearly cost of owning such
products.

Value

Value is determined by the price at which
quality is provided. While the initial allure of Virtual Organs is
often the low-price, with the shortcomings of PC tone generation
and the absence of integrated long-term product support, it is hard
to make an argument for a Virtual Organ's real value. Finally, if a
Virtual Organ is equipped with a quality console, keyboards,
amplifiers and speakers, the associated costs prove that even
low-price is an illusion.

Allen has become the world's favorite digital organ by supplying
the most realistic pipe organ sounds and the finest quality of
construction; a fully integrated approach with product support that
is second to none. The combination of these attributes provides
real and lasting value.